There's Something Nasty In Dragon Valley

It had been a year to the day since Sophie set off on her adventures in college and now she was back. Dumped in the middle of nowhere, in the worst storm the sleepy little town had ever encountered.

 It was then that she realised why only Nessa and Hespa were available for her graduation.

Blaine was busy fighting one of the worst emergencies he'd had in his entire career.

And Shannon was going out on a 'date' with a vampire! Although she was kinda sorta out of touch, as he thought she was a little like the weather ... wet. But still, it's nice to see her getting out and about anyways.

BL4IN3 and S0NNY EM were busy at home. S0NNY EM was proving to be quite a prolific artist actually.

Although, sticking one's head through a block of clay, isn't exactly 'modern art'.

But..... it was Blaine - the original Simbot that uncovered a dirty little secret that was now unfolding in the Valley.

His latest emergency had 4 Sims trapped in a house. No fire, but people panicking nonetheless. So he popped over to help out. And that's when he discovered a shocking sight!

Shannon's sister, Teagan MacAnna, had been deliberately locked in the basement with no means of escape! The door leading down to the basement had a powerful spell cast upon it that Blaine could not undo. Not even his trusty axe would break down  the door. Such was the powerful force that had been placed!

And to make matters worse .... the owners of the house ... were none other than senior members of the Dragon Valley Committee! The same ones who'd poured scorn upon Shannon when she brought the Bots to Sophie's high school graduation!

They pleaded their case, but Blaine was having none of it. He yelled through the door to Teagan to ask her if she could teleport at all. She was far too scared but he managed to calm her down so she could think rationally.

As soon as she was calm, she felt foolish for being such a coward and not thinking straight. But she managed to teleport back home. At the same time, Blaine got on the phone and called in the higher authorities to deal with this serious case.

And then dialled another number. To tell the fire station that he was officially retiring. Just two Sims from his goal, he'd seen far too much and had had enough of saving people .... full stop.

He tracked down Teagan to see if she was okay and filled her in on what he'd done. She was still a little shaken, but grateful for his help.

It was at this point that he felt his battery back up starting to falter and wondered if she wouldn't mind lending him an electric socket he could plug himself into.

She was quite surprised that this 'old man' was, in fact, a hunk of metal underneath!

Editor's Notes:

I sent Blaine in to rescue Teagan from the basement, there was a routing issue that meant that he couldn't chop the door down properly. No matter how many times I told him to. Time was ticking onward and I got really frustrated. So I used ResetSim for Teagan to send her back home. However, this didn't complete the emergency. So I got him to retire instead.

But really? A fairy Sim trapped in a basement of an apparently 'esteemed and powerful' member of the 'committee' and unable to free herself???? THAT stinks of conspiracy (in my minds' eye anyways)

Chapter Twenty Nine - What ..... Just ..... Happened?

WHOA!!!! BURGLAR!!!!
Hang on hang on, it's only me.
Austin?

Yep.
What are you doing dressed up in a burglar outfit?
Infiltrating the warehouse to get more evidence in on a case.
Ah right.
Strictly hush hush, don't want to give them any sneaky peeks just in case they get rid of the evidence.
Ah right.

FINALLY!!!! 50,000 lifetime reward points accumulated. Which means I've got BIIIIG plans for Austin. 

WOOP WOOP!
I really don't know why Austin started acting all silly like there, but it looked good ROFL


First things first.

Step One .... Invite Shannon around.

Ohh I can handle that, she's always good company.

Yeah .... riiiiight.
*dials phone* Shannon? Wanna pop around?
Sure, I'll be there in a minute.

Hi Shannon. I want to see a ghost.
That's nice, love your home by the way.
Thanks, it's not bad really. Better than that other place.

 Step Two, raise the passion levels a little

Give us a snog.
.... Austin ......?????

Need to work out.
Oh hell no Austin, you're not backing out of this one. Not so fast young man.

Step Three - Proposal

There's a sudden compulsion I've got at the moment Shannon. I feel I'm not in full control of myself here but....
 

.... will you marry me?

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG. 

Is that a yes?

YES!!! Of COURSE it's a YES. I can't believe you've finally took this step.Where's the ring?

Ohhh shiny!!! Don't care if I'm getting wet here, this has got to be the BEST moment of my entire life!!!
Wait, we're not finished yet.....

Step  Four - Marriage
WHAT????

You heard me. Now get cracking exchanging rings and stuff so we can start the next generation.

I didn't sign up for this.
I've got 24 hours of being in control of everything you do, so suck it up laddie and do the right thing.

And so they did, it was a quick private wedding, in the dripping rain, but who cares, they're married now, that's all that matters.

Step Five - WooHoo!!

NOW you're talking.

Sadly, this took a little while, since Shannon was a bit nervous (wedding day jitters) and took her time climbing into bed with him (at least she's not a Fembot assassin from Dr Evil!!)

Annnnnd, the ball is rolling ..... I hope.
And here endeth the whole 24 hours.

Welcome to Austin's world, Mrs Shannon Powers.

What ..... Just .... Happened?

Chapter Twenty Eight - A Change of Scenery

You do know I've got one outstanding wish you haven't completed yet.
I know.
And you realise that you cannot delete it.
Yep.
Sooooo.............
I can't find a suitable property that meets your needs.....
.... yet.
Well, time's getting on here and you've only got hours left to fulfil it.
I know.

Yep, sure enough, I'd decided to lock one of his Mid Life Crisis wishes, knowing full well that once it is locked, it HAS to be granted. To move house.

Easier said than done. I've looked over the current properties in Dragon Valley, and none meet Austin's criteria. At the same time, it was mid summer and Leisure Day was upon us. Austin rolled a wish to throw a pool party. Heh, no chance. I remember the last one he organised... at the community pool.

But then, inspiration hit me. Why not build one?

Dial the realtor.
Why?
Just do it.
What's your game?
Please, indulge me this once. I'm pretty sure they've got something right up your alley.

So, reluctantly, Austin agrees. And a big grin spreads over his face.

So?
I've got a place, just on the market.
And?
It's a kind of a fixer upper.
Can we see it?
Sure you can. It's only just up the road.

So he hops into his cruiser and drives the short distance, pulling up outside a fairly impressive looking building. A Tudor Style abode with high thatched roofing and plenty of garden space.

Fixer upper huh?
Yep. But for now, it's got everything that I need.

*is happy*
Nice layout.

Two floors with two bedrooms, one master bedroom and a spare room.... for Boney

Open plan kitchen/dining/sitting room with a space for a computer.
I have a computer?

Yep, saves you travelling all the way to the library to run up your reports.
Good thinking!!

Hey, I'm particularly happy with the bedroom, nice size.

Thought you might be.
And with that, he threw a pool party and soaked up the last remaining rays of sunlight whilst he waited for his guests.

Namely Shannon and another sim (forget his name)

Sims are soooo easy to please.

Oh P.S., if anybody is interested, I can package the house up, but it really IS a fixer upper. I literally had only 15 hours in which to find a property and I tried to build within Austin's budget as it is.

Chapter Twenty Four - It Was a Scene Out of Thriller!

Austin got stuck in a routine. Work was calling him at all hours, he wasn't seeing Shannon as much as he like, even though I locked a wish to date her again. And his bank balance was growing quite steadily but he wasn't really enjoying it as much as he'd expected.

Wishes dried up. Even his fascination with street art soon petered out (yay, so glad he got over that phase!!)

So I decided he should have a little outdoor 'snuggle' area. Somewhere where he and Shannon can spend time together and watch the stars. I even added a telescope!

It rained.

However, I was not to be deterred. After completing one final street art wish, a few slots opened up and Austin wanted to ....

.... go shopping!!!

So I sent him to the supermarket and the book store to buy a few things. At first I thought this wish wasn't going to work but it did!! Yay! Go me .... not long for the free day *so happy*

Can I put my siren on?
Is it REALLY necessary to use your squad car for EVERY journey?
Yep.
Isn't that an abuse on company resources?
Who cares? I look COOL. So can I use the siren?
*sigh* if you insist.
YAY!

It didn't get him to his destination any faster because the roads were almost empty.
But I'd always wanted to do that as soon as I clicked onto the car (such a big kid!)

Another wish rolled, to watch the stars with Shannon.
So, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and fulfil both wishes at the same time.

Whilst Austin waited patiently for his date, he was looking a bit pensive.

Something on your mind?
No, just sitting here.
Ah right. Was wondering if you'd planned on proposing to Shannon today, that's all.
WHAAAAAAAAA??????????
Just wondering.
I was thinking of questioning her.
My turn to say ... WHAAAAAAAAAAA?????????????

I hope you know what you are doing there.
Oh yes.

She arrived and was happy enough to answer all his questions.

Because he reached another level of Rebel status, it also meant that he had a new gizmo. He couldn't resist sharing it with her.

See this? It's going to make me mega bucks!!!
O-kay Austin, whatever you say.
Shannon likes it.
I know.
Does it play music?
Ummmmm... not sure.

Then they made a return trip to the diner/restaurant where they enjoyed each other's company. But just before they walked through the doors, Shannon started acting a bit weird. She even hinted that she might need to go pretty soon (what's the deal with that?)

Wonder if they've got a nice juicy steak, fancy that tonight.
Whatever you wish my lovely.

Even though he was tired, I was determined to fulfil his watch the stars with .... wish.
However, things didn't quite go to plan.

You see, there was a full moon.
And suddenly, all actions I'd lined up for Austin, all cancelled out autonomously.
I tried but to no avail.

Um Austin?
Yeah.

I
 got something to tell you.....
.. hope you're okay with this.....
Whatever it is, I'm good with it okay?

And then suddenly, like a scene from Michael Jackson's iconic movie video Thriller.....
Shannon turned into a zombie!!

OH ME JEEZ I SWEARI'M DREAMING HERE!!!!
 Braiiiiiiiiiiiins.

And attacked Austin.
Or at least she tried, but something stopped her in her tracks.

You'll still love me ... right?
Erm, you ARE a bit freaky at the moment. And I am tired. Maybe this is a hallucination?

No Austin, this is the real deal.

I gotta go.

He ended the date, and Shannon, instead of being disappointed, was thrilled that things went so well between them.

It was a great party, right? Did they like my fairy dust?
Um, riiiight. I gotta go. Night Shannon.

Needless to say, he didn't roll a wish to date her after that.
Yeah, way to go Austin. kill this challenge off before it's truly taken off!!!